We've got the Online Safety Act in the UK, and now we're about to have new rules "to protect children online" - although it mostly affects social media. This is not the usual sort of news we would cover here on GamingOnLinux, but these type of laws tend to have a lot of knock-on effects.
So what exactly has been announced? Starting sometime next year, the UK will follow Australia to completely ban social media for under 16s. This includes the likes of Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). While WhatsApp and Signal appear to currently be exempt.
The UK gov said that high-risk features like livestreaming and "strangers being able to contact children" will also be restricted for under 16s on "other online services like gaming" which will require "stronger requirements for age checks on platforms". It will also hit AI chatbots, specifically those of a "romantic companion" which will be limited to 18+.
I would expect the likes of Reddit, Discord, Bluesky, Threads to also end up included.
In another government post they confirmed that while the law will affect communication features in games, it won't stop under 16s from playing online games.
When children reach 16 / 17 they will be able to access social media but "live streaming, and stranger communication including in gaming, will be switched off by default for these ages".
How will you prove your age across various platforms? Interestingly, the UK gov actually suggests simply using the account age is good enough (or has a linked credit card - like Steam, or an email address that's age verified) but the rules have not yet been formalised. They said Ofcom will "set out in the coming months different options for effective forms of age assurance for proving whether someone is over 16 that are accurate, robust, reliable, and fair".
What's the actual time-line here? They're not being exactly clear. They said the changes should be implemented "in Spring 2027" with the first set of regulations due to be laid before the end of the year.
The end result is that we are all going to have to verify our identities just to access more and more of the internet in the UK. We're past the point of a slippery slope; when it comes to privacy, we are staring down a massive cliff-edge. This is very much a Papers, Please situation for all UK adults.
Just think about how this will affect gaming - any game that has text or voice chat is then likely included (just like with the Online Safety Act - but now this too). It all depends on exactly how Ofcom will lay down the law.
The era of the open internet is over.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I'm really tired of these laws that make the government do what the parents should be doing anyways.
It should be the responsibility of the parent to make sure their kids know the dangers of social media, because, yes, there are a lot of dangers out there. Teach them how social media platforms work, and how to think critically about what they see and consume. Teach them the dangers of strangers online and how to avoid bad situations with them. These talks are very important.
I saw [a really good short on this](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R8t8lNvRzfU), and I tend to bring it up in conversations surrounding social media use among children. There used to be plenty of online spaces where kids could have fun with very little risk to their safety, but a lot of those spaces went away as the internet grew larger. Roblox used to be very kid-friendly (but perhaps I've got some rose-tinted goggles on), but the bigger it got, the more the staff started caring way less about safety.
The government shouldn't be the parent, *and* it's a bad idea to just give your kids access to the full-fat internet all the time. (I should know, I was one of those unrestricted internet access kids, and I have a little bit of learned experience about bad actors online I wish I knew earlier. I learned the hard way. 😬)
And for the love of god, the iPad is NOT a babysitter.
Last edited by pilk on 18 Jun 2026 at 9:17 pm UTC
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